by him at the command of the senate. This is a good example of the sort
of myth that the learned call _ætiological_--that is, myths that
have grown up to account for certain facts or customs. The story of the
carrying off of the Sabine women is one of this kind, for it seems to
have originated in a desire to account for certain incidents in the
marriage ceremonies of the Romans. We cannot believe either, though it
is reasonable to suppose that some event occurred which was the basis
of the tradition told in connection with the history of different
periods. We shall find that, in the year 390, all the records of Roman
history were destroyed by certain barbarians who burned the city, and
that therefore we have tradition only upon which to base the history
before that date. We may reasonably believe, however, that at some time
the marshy ground in the forum gave way, as ground often does, and that
there was difficulty in filling up the chasm. A grand opportunity was
thus offered for a good story-teller to build up a romance, or to touch
up the early history with an interesting tale of heroism. The
temptation to do this would have been very strong to an imaginative
writer.

The Sabines gained the first advantage in the present struggle, and it
seemed as though fortune was about to desert the Romans, when Romulus
commended their cause to Jupiter in a prayer in which he vowed to erect
an altar to him as Jupiter Stator--that is, "Stayer," if he would stay
the flight of the Romans. The strife was then begun with new vigor, and
in the midst of the din and carnage the Sabine women, who had by this
time become attached to their husbands, rushed between the fierce men
and urged them not to make them widows or fatherless, which was the sad
alternative presented to them. "Make us not twice captives!" they
exclaimed. Their appeal resulted in peace, and the two peoples agreed
to form one nation, the ruler of which should be alternately a Roman